Another Bogeyman in the Middle East
N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility
By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 13, 2007; A12
North Korea may be cooperating with Syria on some sort of nuclear facility in Syria, according to new intelligence the United States has gathered over the past six months, sources said. The evidence, said to come primarily from Israel, includes dramatic satellite imagery that led some U.S. officials to believe that the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons.
The new information, particularly images received in the past 30 days, has been restricted to a few senior officials under the instructions of national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, leaving many in the intelligence community unaware of it or uncertain of its significance, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Some cautioned that initial reports of suspicious activity are frequently reevaluated over time and were skeptical that North Korea and Syria, which have cooperated on missile technology, would have a joint venture in the nuclear arena.
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'May' be, and 'according to some' are the new journalistic reference points.
Well, that sounds like something to hang your hat on. Don't you just know those senior officials begin and end in Dick Cheney's office?
Winding down Iraq, winding up Syria and piling armaments on everyone (just so long as they're not nook-yu-ler). Gotta keep Ike's military-industrial boys busy.
In a world that desperately needs Middle East (and particularly Palestinian-Israeli) peace initiatives, this criminal administration rattles rhetorical swords, arms everybody and keeps stirring the hornet's nest.
* For more in-depth articles by Jim on Middle East, check out Opinion-Columns.com